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5 famous people Pope Francis has met (that we know of)
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Vatican meetings with Pope Francis can be pretty secret. Here are five that we know of with celebrities. - photo by Herb Scribner
Hold the presses, Pope Francis just met Leonardo DiCaprio.

On Thursday, the Oscar-nominated actor met the pope in a private meeting at the Vatican along with his dad, George DiCaprio, and the global fundraising chair for the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, Milutin Gatsby, according to People magazine.

The meeting allegedly lasted 15 minutes and mostly focused on charity and the environment. DiCaprio gave the pontiff a check he could use for charities that were close to your heart, The Associated Press reported. DiCaprio also offered the pope a book of paintings and artistry from Hieronymus Bosch, who painted "The Garden of Earthly Delights, which hung above DiCaprios bed as a baby, he said.

"As a child I didnt quite understand what it all meant, but through my child's eyes it represented a planet, the utopia we had been given, the overpopulation, excesses and the third panel we see a blackened sky that represents so much to me of whats going on in the environment," DiCaprio told the pope.

Francis gave DiCaprio a gift, too a leather-bound version of the encyclical on the world environment, People reported.

Since taking over as pope in March 2013, Francis has met more than his fair share of celebrities and famous people from America. Heres a look at some of the more prominent people hes met.

President Barack Obama

We all saw President Barack Obama and Pope Francis greet each other back in September 2015. The two met upon Francis arrival to the United States and after he gave a speech to people outside the White House lawn.

But that wasnt the first time the two met each other. Back in March 2014, the pontiff and the president met for 52 minutes at the Vatican, where the two discussed a litany of topics, including the environment, religious liberty and immigration, Religion News Service reported.

Eva Longoria

The hit actress traveled to Washington when the pontiff came to America with the sole goal of meeting the pope. Her Instagram was filled with road trip photos of her and her sister on their journey to meet the pope.

This was an especially memorable trip for Longoria since she was with her sister Liza, who the actress called a hero. Liza is mentally challenged, but as a devout Catholic, she has found the strength to hold a steady job and do almost everything on her own, according to San Antonio Express-News.

Apple CEO Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cooks meeting with Pope Francis was to help the pontiff, whos a self-professed dinosaur when it comes to technology, get in touch with his techie side, USA Today reported.

Cook and the pope met for 15 minutes in a private meeting at the Vatican that came on the World Day of Social Communications. Francis hopes to see technology help people across the world benefit from the Internet.

The digital world is a public square, a meeting place where we can either encourage or demean one another, engage in a meaningful discussion or unfair attacks, Francis said. The Internet can be used wisely to build a society which is healthy and open to sharing.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt

Cook wasnt the only Silicon Valley star to get Francis attention. Before meeting with Cook, the pontiff had a meeting with Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Googles parent company Alphabet Inc. Schmidt had previously served as Googles CEO for almost 10 years, Religion News Service reported.

Its still unknown what the two talked about, but Schmidt has always been interested in humanity and has even authored a book about how technology can better the world interests that would sit well with Francis.

Kim Davis

Toward the end of summer 2015, the nation was divided over Kim Davis and her search for religious liberty. So it came as no surprise that the United States was shocked when it was reported that Davis and the pope briefly met during his visit to the country.

Davis, a county clerk in Kentucky who refused to perform same-sex marriages, causing controversy across the nation, had a quick meeting with the pope where the two asked each other to pray for the other, The Atlantic reported.

He thanked her for her courage and told her to stay strong, Davis lawyer, Mat Staver, told The Atlantic.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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